Lovers of live music are able to identify the appeal: It’s the combination of musicianship, atmosphere, showmanship and crowd participation.
The Irish call it the craic.
For those fortunate enough to have watched Eamonn McGirr perform at his joint in Loudonville years ago, it was how the boisterous Irishman singing folk songs from his native land in a thick, handsome brogue. And, when he picked you out from the crowd to ask where you were from, God help you if you answered “England.” At Eamonn’s, the craic was magical.
“It has to be presented,” said John Haggarty, “It can’t be just waltzed through.” The vocalist to Get Up Jack is your expert, this side of the veil, to entertaining a sizeable crowd while keeping tune to a good Irish number. With his own roots established on the western coast of the emerald isle, one would expect that he, too, possesses the gift for gab.
“I don’t know. Sometimes I do,” he said. “It may depend on the influence of Sir Arthur Guinness.”
You can forgive the stereotype of associating an Irishman with a good brew, when the stereotype puts your seat in a pub, in front of the stage on which Get Up Jack playing. You may recognize the name. Okay, it may be common enough for these parts, say as you can’t swing a harp without hitting someone of Irish descent. But, this John Haggarty has played music for crowds in five different decades. He’s popular enough to those who followed Hair of the Dog. He was a founding member.
“A couple of years ago, Mike(DeAngelis) and I realized we’ve been playing together for 40 years,” said Haggarty. The two had been playing together since the Reagan administration, in a band known as The Porters. “So, we wanted to put something together to commemorate that.”
Get Up Jack first started as a side project, taking a backseat to their work with Hair of the Dog. It was intended to be something of a homage their predecessors, The Dubliners, The WolfeTones, The Clancey Brothers and Tommy Makem — traditional, Irish folk music. “They’re the ones who brought the old folk songs to the states.”
Hair of the Dog’s popularity within the Capital District alone was undeniable. Local venues that advertised their shows were overshadowed in name recognition alone. As their names grew in popularity throughout the ‘90s, they played throughout the region at numerous heritage festivals, and later welcomed to play in Ireland.
With Haggarty, DeAngelis and Scott Apicelli more occupied with traditional folk songs, the progressive sound to Hair of the Dog started a divide. In 2014, the three parted ways. “It was hard,” said Haggarty. “It’s a band that’s been like a family. The members of the band weren’t co-workers. They had become family.” Each side parted ways like a fork in the road. Haggarty is happy to say Hair of the Dog continues to be successful, while Get Up Jack is starting to take flight. The troupe has a CD coming out, and will perform a CD-release show at The Parting Glass Pub in Saratoga Springs on Saturday, July 11.
The CD, called “Alive and Well, Vol. 1,” is an apparent response to how things transpired over the past year. This six-piece band is a veniable all-star team of local talent. Joining Haggarty, DeAngelis and Apicelli is Crick Diefendorf on guitar, who owns his own music studio and plays along Skip Parson’s in his Riverboat Jazz Band. An Ominous Seapod is in the mix as well with Tom Pirozzi on bass. And, the “bon Vivant” rounding things out is Doug Johnson (also known as Harpo Jenkins) at ukulele and harmonica. Back on St. Patrick’s Day of this year, the band played to a Revolution Hall crowd in Troy. The playlist included 30 popular folk songs, which was ultimately whittled down to 15 to fit on the CD. The name of the CD also implies just how easily the band could release a second from that night.
“What most people call ballads, the Irish call up-beat,” said Haggarty. “The [songs] we enjoy playing the most are the ones where we get the audience involved. … Have them be part of the band.”